Dakshinamurti- chauvinist much? 

देहं प्राणं अपीन्द्रियाण्यपि चलाम् बुद्धिं च शून्यं विदुः 

स्त्री बालान्ध जडोपमास् त्वहम् इति भ्रान्ता भृशं वादिनः 

माया शक्ति विलास कल्पित महा व्यामोह संहारिणे 

तस्मै श्री गुरु मूर्तये नम इदं श्री दक्षिणामूर्तये ||6 

“Ignorant Like Women, Children, and the Blind” — Decoding a Difficult Verse 

The verse declares: The various philosophers are deluded, proclaiming — “I am the body, I am the energy, I am the senses, I am the mind, I am the intellect, I am the void.” 
They wander like the ignorant — like women, children, and the blind. 
He who destroys this great deceit, born of the power of Māyā, that Supreme Guru — Śrī Dakṣiṇāmūrti — to Him, my salutations! 

This is one of those verses that jolts the modern reader. Why, we ask, does it equate “ignorance” with women, children, and the blind? 
At first glance, it seems blatantly exclusionary — sexist, ageist, and ableist all at once. 

Traditional apologetics have offered various explanations. 
Some argue these are merely examples drawn from a specific cultural setting, not value judgments — the poet’s shorthand for those “untrained in philosophical reasoning.” 
Others reinterpret strī (woman) as a symbolic term — derived from tri (three), referring to beings bound by the three guṇas (sattva, rajas, tamas). 

Yet, neither defense feels entirely satisfying. 
So perhaps the key lies not in justification, but in reinterpretation — unpacking the archetypes of ignorance that the verse points toward. 

Three Archetypes of Ignorance 

1. Stree — Ignorance as Attachment 
Here, stree symbolises the ignorance that manifests as moha — attachment. 
Like a lover who is “blind in love,” the mind clings obsessively to the object of desire, defending and serving it with single-minded devotion. 
This form of ignorance is powerful — yet binding. 
It entraps through affection, not enmity. 

→ The sublimation of this mode is Bhakti — turning attachment from the perishable to the Divine. 
Love, purified of possession, becomes liberation. 

2. Baala — Ignorance as Dependence 
The bāla (child) represents helplessness and dependence — ignorance that arises from immaturity. 
The child cannot sustain himself — he must be constantly fed, bathed, protected, and entertained. 
His actions are driven not by reason, but by emotion and impulse. 
This is the ignorance of weak will and emotional fragility. 

→ The sublimation here is through Karma Yoga — disciplined action that strengthens resolve, matures emotion, and channels energy toward self-mastery. 

3. Andha — Ignorance as Lack of Vision 
The andha (blind) stands for the absence of inner sight — paucity of discernment. 
He sees the outer world but not its essence — “paśyan api na paśyati mūḍhaḥ” — “Though seeing, he does not truly see.” 
This is intellectual blindness — not of the eyes, but of viveka (discrimination). 

→ The sublimation of this mode is through Jñāna Yoga — awakening the inner light of insight, where seeing merges into knowing. 

Synthesis — The Guru as the Destroyer of Māyā 

Together, these three represent the three modes of misidentification — attachment (stree), dependence (baala), and delusion (andha). 
They are not social categories but psychological states through which all human beings — regardless of gender, age, or ability — pass. 

The Guru, Śrī Dakṣiṇāmūrti, is not condemning people; He is dissolving patterns. 
He stands as the silent destroyer of this mahā-moha — the grand illusion that mistakes the temporary for the Self. 

Thus, the verse, when stripped of its cultural veneer, reveals a timeless message: 
Ignorance wears many disguises, but wisdom has only one — silence.